As a result of man's second fall, God pronounced a greater curse. "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength" (4:11-12). These words were a warning to Cain. God seemed to be saying, "Since you have done such evil things, the ground will be under a greater curse than it was before. It was cursed because of the fall of your parents and so it brought forth thorns and thistles (3:17-18). Now, because of your further fall, the ground will receive a further curse. It will be cursed to the extent that regardless how much you labor upon it, it will not yield to you its strength."
Moreover, God told Cain that "a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth" (4:12). What is a vagabond? A vagabond, or a wanderer, is a person who has no goal, no home, no satisfaction, and no rest. A vagabond has no dwelling place and no comfort; he continually wanders on the earth, floating from place to place. God told Cain that he would become such a vagabond.
This sentence, however, was a merciful sentence. If, at any time, Cain would have repented and sought God's forgiveness, the Lord would have been happy to forgive him. Suppose Cain had said, "Lord, I was wrong. I didn't take the way that You showed to my parents, the way that my parents told me. Now I repent and take that way. Lord, forgive me." If Cain had prayed in this way, God surely would have forgiven him. But listen to Cain's response to God's merciful sentence. "Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that findeth me shall slay me" (4:14). There is not the slightest hint of repentance. Cain was only bargaining with God, saying that he would be driven out from the face of the earth.
What does it mean to be driven out from the face of the earth? It is difficult for any reader of the Bible to understand this word. What do you think it means? Apparently, Cain was not driven out from the face of the earth. How could he be away from the face of the earth and continue to live? Remember that this word was not spoken by God, for He had only said that Cain would be a fugitive and a vagabond, not that he would be driven away from the face of the earth. Nevertheless, Cain understood God's words in this way, realizing that he was about to be driven out from the face of the earth. What does this mean? I shall answer this question later on in the message.
Cain did not repent. He argued in a fearful way. He was not afraid of God, but of being killed by others. Why did he have this fear? Because he had killed his brother. A number of times Brother Watchman Nee said to me, "If someone thinks that you might steal from him, that person must be a robber. Only a robber is afraid that others will steal from him. If you never steal from others, you will not think that others would steal from you." If you know nothing about robbery, you will never entertain the thought that someone might rob you. However, if you rob others, you will be aware of the danger of being robbed. Cain was afraid of being murdered because he had murdered his brother. Thus, he did not repent, but argued with God, saying, "It shall come to pass, that everyone that findeth me shall slay me." Cain knew that he had no safeguard. However, God was kind. God is always kind according to what we are able to receive. "And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him" (4:15). We see that God put a mark upon Cain. Do not ask me what this mark was, for I do not know. I only know that God marked Cain as a safeguard to him.